Lecture 1 Notes.docx

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School

University of Toronto Mississauga

Department

Sociology

Course

SOC219H5

Professor

Nicole Myers

Semester

Summer

Description

Introduction
“Our Government is proud to be on the right side of this issue — the side of law-abiding citizens, the
side of victims who want justice, and the side that understands the cost of a safe and secure society is
an investment worth making,” - Vic Toews, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety in 2010
 If you disagree,
 You must be on the wrong side of the issue
 You bust be against law abiding citizens
 Must LOVE criminals
 Don't believe victims get justice
 Clearly have no understanding about how to secure the safety of our citizens
 Multiple announcements (all 5 regions: 3 months)
 “…investing” *$348 million construction only+
 “… safe and secure…” *1376 new beds; $162 million/year to maintain beds+
 “…expansion of federal prisons” (emphasis added)
 More money spent to create more beds
o Population increase (2016-17)
o Shift from provincial institutions?
 “…better provide for the protection, safety and security”
 “…cost of a safe and secure society is an investment worth making…”
 Other choices for investment? (construction costs and operating)
 “…proud to be on the right side of this issue”
 What is the “other side”?
 Are there only two sides, and are they mutually exclusive?
 “… helps ensure that criminals serve sentences that better reflect the severity of their crimes.”
 Sentencing and correctional decisions
 Sentence 2 years or more = Federal Institution
 Sentence 2 years less a day = Provincial Institution
 90-95% of all custodial sentences = Less than 6 months (short)
Why Study Canada’s Criminal Justice System
 Understanding the nature of the system
 Great deal of power o
Has ability to transcend the rights we have been told to have
o Taken out of the hands of the citizens and put in the state of officials
 What is the state appropriate and proper role of punishment
o How much should we punish?
 “Everyone knows” about crime and the criminal justice system
 Everyone has:
o Opinions
o and a sense of how it operates
o how it should be done better
 Everyone's beliefs about crimes is often based on their own intuition
o
What you think is right
o
What you feel is right
o What your parents told you was right
o Doesn’t mean it is true
 Why are certain groups over-represented in prisons in Canada?
 If sentences for a particular offence were made more harsh, would the incidence of that crime
decrease?
o What may deter you, may not deter other people
o Percentage of people caught and sent to jail incredibly small
 Parts of the system (often) cannot be considered in isolation
 Importance of ‘criminal justice policy’ politically
What is the “Crime Agenda” all about? Parliamentary Activity 2006-2011

 Crime vs. punishment?
 Impact on crime?

 Impact on (actual) punishment
 Addressing fixable problems? 
 What are they meant to do?

 How do you characterize the ‘crime agenda’?
 Solution: Provide you with the data.
th th
 Five Parliamentary sessions across two Parliaments - 39 and 40
 Definition of a ‘crime bill’ (inherently problematic) 